Each week, Irvine World News provides a forum for football coaches to talk about the previous week’s games and look ahead to their next matchup. All six Irvine high school coaches responded this week.

Rick Curtis, Northwood

Special teams, overall player of the week: Brian Abel, junior, quarterback and punter. Abel completed 15 of 23 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed for 77 yards on four carries and one touchdown. Abel was effective punting the ball as well with three punts for 130 yards for a 43.3 yard average.

Defensive player of the week: Brett Blackburn, junior, linebacker. Blackburn had an outstanding game with seven solo tackles, two assists, one caused fumble, one recovered fumble and a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Offensive player of the week: Sam Silver, junior, running back. Silver rushed for 68 hard-earned yards on 15 carries while also scoring a rushing touchdown. He played both ways – and on most special teams – and accumulated eight solo tackles, three assisted tackles and a sack.

Practice player of the week: Riley Golden, sophomore tight end and outside linebacker. Golden continues to improve on our scout teams, which were instrumental in making our offense and defense better prepared.

Analysis of last week’s 35-19 victory over Laguna Beach: Our team came out fired up for Laguna Beach as we returned to the site of our last-second loss in last year’s CIF quarterfinal matchup. The defense created five turnovers in the Breakers’ first five possessions, and our offense began to dominate as we opened up a 35-0 lead going into the fourth quarter. We were pleased with our effort and our senior leadership throughout the week and during the game.

This week’s game: Beckman Coach Glen Fisher and his staff have done a great job preparing their players this season. The Patriots are solid in all phases of the game, and their players are playing hard each week. Both teams will be hungry for that first league win; therefore, I expect a hard-hitting, emotional contest Friday night.

Glen Fisher, Beckman

Last week: Beckman had a bye week.

This week’s game: At Northwood, they do a good job preparing their kids for every contest. I have a lot of respect for Coach (Rick) Curtis and how his kids play the game.

Erik Terry, Irvine

Offensive player of the week: Austin Domino, center. Although we had our challenges against Dana Hills, Domino had a very solid performance. We gained most of our rushing yards going up the middle behind him.

Defensive player of the week: James Sanga, outside linebacker. Sanga continues to improve and did a nice job of getting off blocks and finding the football.

Special-teams player of the week: Tyler Young was our leading tackler on special teams.

Analysis of last week’s 42-3 loss at Dana Hills: We started the game well, but three first-half turnovers really put us in a hole that was difficult to climb out of. Dana Hills has a very good team, and in the second half we struggled to move the ball with consistency. As the head coach, I need to do a better job focusing on fundamentals with our team. We will get back to work this week with a back-to-the-basics approach and an emphasis on ball security and tackling.

This week’s game: Corona del Mar has proven to be one of the best teams in the county this year, and we will have our hands full with its bevy of talented players. We will need to play a near-perfect game in all three phases if we want to have the opportunity to start off the league season with a victory.

Mark Cunningham, University

Offensive player of the week: Jordan Davidson came in, ran hard and did a good job of blocking.

Defensive player of the week: Matt Abellaneda made some good tackles and did well covering receivers.

Special teams player of the week: Omar Diab had some good returns.

Analysis of last week’s 42-0 loss to Garden Grove: Overall, the number of turnovers was disappointing and costly. We have a lot of work to do this week if we want to compete with Woodbridge.

This week’s game: University hosts Woodbridge.

Rick Gibson, Woodbridge

Last week: Woodbridge had a bye week.

This week’s game: University is always a tough opponent. It’s a rivalry game and first league game and bragging rights for a year.

Brett Mertens,

Crean Lutheran

Offensive player of the week: Mark Sharp, running back. Sharp had 100 total yards of offense (63 rushing, 37 receiving), and he ran very physical and took care of the ball.

Defensive player of the week: Isaiah Hobus, linebacker. Hobus led the Saints in tackles while only playing 50 percent of the defensive snaps. It was his first game back from injury.

Special-teams player of the week: Drew Jonus had several nice returns. He is also the kicker and punter and had a nice game in those areas as well.

Analysis of last week’s 48-7 loss to Capo Valley Christian: We didn’t really show up early, and CVCS overwhelmed us with its speed. The credit goes to CVCS for the way its players executed offensively and defensively. They showed us a couple wrinkles we were not ready for and jumped on us early. I was pleased with how the kids finished the game and fought hard to the end.

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